Castle on the Hill

宋逸轩

“Castle on the Hill”是英國流行唱作男歌手Ed Sheeran演唱的一首歌曲，于2017年1月通过Asylum Records发行，并收录在Ed于3月3日发行的新专辑÷。该单曲发行首日在英国、美国iTunes即时下载榜排行第二。Ed Sheeran于1991年出生在英国约克郡，自幼学习吉他，中学时开始尝试写歌作曲，自2005年开始事业打拼，其歌曲多次获得格莱美音乐奖提名。

我们对于好歌曲的定义大抵是旋律优美、歌词动人、歌者演绎出彩。可我们迷上一首歌，大概只是因为它唱出了我们的心思。共鸣，缘起于此。

“Castle On The Hill”这首歌意在致敬歌手Ed Sheeran童年成长的地方——英国东部萨福克郡的弗拉林汉小镇（Framlingham， Suffolk）。在17岁搬到伦敦追求事业之前，Ed Sheeran的大部分时间都在这个小镇度过，因而这里充满了Ed Sheeran关于童年的回忆。

几乎所有的成年人内心都有一个童话城堡，这也是为什么《小王子》的作者安东尼.德.圣-埃克苏佩里说：“童话，其实是写给起先是孩子的大人们看的。”同样，几乎所有的大人，哪怕是早已沧桑的老者，其内心最柔软的地方依然是母亲和故乡。乡愁是一个人即使走到天涯海角都挣脱不开的绵绵不绝的眷恋。《老人与海》里讲到孤身一人的老头在海上经历那摄人心魄的三天两夜里，不断描述到老人在迷迷糊糊打盹时梦见了非洲，那是他儿时长大的地方，是他永远不能割舍的乡愁。若有一天，老人能归故里，定如歌中唱的一样：“I cant wait to go home / Im on my way / Driving at 90 down those country lanes.”尤其是当故乡的因素里夹杂着一种叫童年与母亲的味道，便愈发显得弥足珍贵。

一个深邃的长镜头，从现在拉回过去，聚焦在童年：一个满手是泥的小孩咧着嘴跑在故乡的小路上，与小伙伴们追逐嬉戏，笑声飘过山间，飘过云朵，芬芳的青草味飘入鼻尖，一如这歌里所唱：“When I was six years old I broke my leg / I was running from my brother and his friends / And tasted the sweet perfume of the mountain grass as I rolled down” 我突然想起自己年少时与小伙伴们游戏奔跑，兴致起了不管不顾，想背起和自己差不多高却比自己胖两倍的小伙伴往前冲，结果一个踉跄，跌在地上。膝盖上留下的伤疤到现在都清晰可见，当时却根本不当回事，一个小人拖着打绷带的腿，仍亦步亦趋地跟在小伙伴当中，唯恐掉了队，哪管身上有伤。这大概就是童年应有的记忆吧，当听到歌里这句“Running from the law through the backfields”，那些童年的记忆一如西洋镜里的新奇图片，一张张满血复活地跳跃在眼前。

英国小镇是英国的一大特色，不同的小镇景致各异，却有着相同的静谧与清新。英国潮湿多雨，即使在阳春三月，出门依然需要着风衣、系围巾，并养成随时带雨伞的习惯。我曾无事时在英国的Brighton、Winchmore等小镇慢慢溜达，走在那雨后清新干净的小路上，前方有礼让的车，抬头有湛蓝的天和洁白的云，远处传来教堂的钟声，空气里弥漫着甜丝丝的春的味道，就近寻一个咖啡馆，解下围巾，落座窗边，捧一杯热气腾腾的英式早茶，内心无比宁静。明明一个异乡人，那一刻，不知怎的，竟有前世到过此处的错觉。我想我应该能想象出Ed口中所唱的“Over the castle on the hill”，那一副英国小镇般故乡的美好画面。

恋上一座城，不过是嗅到了让你依恋的故乡的气息。这种欲罢不能的迷恋叫做乡愁。Ed Sheeran在谈到为何写这样一首歌时，曾说：“Theres a lot of positivity in my hometown， but like， theres also a lot of sadness as well … so I just wanted to touch on it a little bit.”故乡承载着我们的快乐与悲伤，怎能不令我们念念不忘？

也许有一天，我们会忘记了梦想、忘记了希望、忘记了来时的路，但我们不会忘记那丝丝缕缕缠绕着我们的乡愁，我们依然记得那旧时的乡间小路，正如歌中所唱：“I still remember these old country lanes.”

Castle on the Hill

When I was six years old I broke my leg

I was running from my brother and his friends

And tasted the sweet perfume of the mountain grass as I rolled down

I was younger then

Take me back to when

I found my heart and broke it here

Made friends and lost them through the years

And Ive not seen the roaring fields in so long

I know Ive grown

I cant wait to go home

★ Im on my way

Driving at 90 down those country lanes

Singing to “Tiny Dancer1）”

And I miss the way you make me feel

And its real

We watched the sunset over the castle on the hill ★

Fifteen years old and smoking hand-rolled cigarettes

Running from the law through the backfields and getting drunk with my friends

Had my first kiss on a Friday night

I dont reckon I did it right

I was younger then

Take me back to when

We found weekend jobs

When we got paid

Wed buy cheap spirits and drink them straight

Me and my friends have not thrown up in so long

Oh， how weve grown

But I cant wait to go home

（Refrain ★）

Over the castle on the hill

Over the castle on the hill

One friend left to sell clothes

One works down by the coast

One had two kids but lives alone

Ones brother overdosed

Ones already on his second wife

Ones just barely getting by

But these people raised me

And I cant wait to go home

（Refrain ★）

Over the castle on the hill

Over the castle on the hill

1. Tiny Dancer：英國传奇流行音乐创作歌手艾尔顿·约翰（Elton John， 1947～）于1971年发布的一首歌曲。